Ed Espinoza Western states Democratic consultant; former DNC official :
Bundling the Keystone XL pipeline issue into the president's payroll tax cut is just another example of Washington Republicans saying "do as I say, not as I do."
Last year, Republicans rallied against the merger of - what they claimed were - unrelated issues into a single vote. Now here they are, doing just thought. How soon (they hope) we forget.
In September of 2010, Republicans blocked the defense authorization bill because they claimed two included provisions, ending "don't ask don't tell" and implementing the DREAM Act - a measure that includes military services as a path to citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants - had nothing to do with the military.
And yet here they are, 15 months later, offering up a single vote on issues that are completely unrelated.
Last year, Senator John McCain called the bundling of issues a "cynical act for political reasons." I'm curious if he'd be willing to make the same claim now.